The present invention relates to bed sheets, and in particular a top sheet which includes a pleated portion or flap to accommodate a users feet and terminal pockets to permit the sheet to be fitted and retained on a mattress. The invention also relates to an arrangement in a sheet for readily and conveniently ensuring that the sheet is installed right side up.
Fitted top sheets are employed in a variety of institutional and non-institutional settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes and the like. They provide the dual advantages of permitting rapid sheet changes, thereby reducing labour costs, and being better retained on a bed than a conventional flat sheet, thereby providing enhanced comfort and effectiveness. A fitted top sheet operates on a similar principal as a fitted bottom sheet, namely by providing corner pockets which are fitted over the corners of a mattress. In the case of a top sheet, the pockets are provided only at one end of the sheet, namely the foot end. The head end of the sheet generally resembles a conventional flat sheet. Conveniently, the sheet may be fabricated from an elastic fabric, for example a knitted fabric such as cotton having elastic fibers incorporated into the fabric to provide a suitable degree of elasticity. Elasticity of the fabric permits use with a range of mattress thicknesses, and further provides an enhanced level of comfort to the user.
A fitted top sheet must be contoured to tightly fit over the end of the bed, by way of providing a relatively snug fit between the terminal sheet pockets and the corresponding mattress corners. However, the sheet must also provide a suitable amount of toe room for the user. Thus, there must be an amount of loose fabric at the foot end, to permit the sheet to billow at the foot end for movement of the user""s feet. If a sheet provides insufficient slack fabric at the foot end, the user""s feet may be immobilized or pressed down by the top sheet. Thus, if a sheet is tucked in overly tightly at the toe end, the constant pressure of the sheet bearing down on the user""s feet can result in a medical condition called xe2x80x9cfoot dropxe2x80x9d. It is also desirable to provide sufficient loose fabric at the toe end to provide sufficient room under the sheet for the insertion of a foot cradle between the sheets at the toe end. This device lifts the sheets completely off the patient""s feet, for assorted therapeutic reasons.
Conventional fitted top sheets, such as the type sold under the xe2x80x9cSleep-Knitxe2x80x9d((trademark)) brand, feature end pockets for receiving a mattress, and a notch at each corner of the foot end of the sheet which when stitched together in the finished sheet forms a flap or pleat extending across the foot end of the sheet. The flap provides a region of loose fabric at the foot end to permit the sheet to billow. These two features are provided in the prior art product by means of separate seams for each of the corner pocket and flap. Additionally, during assembly of these prior art sheets, it is necessary to provide a separate notch within the fabric to create each of the pocket and billow, as well as a third notch between the first two notches, to indicate to the fabricators where to place the seams for sewing the sheet together. Prior art sheets are thus relatively complex and time consuming to fabricate.
In a further aspect, bed sheets and in particular fitted bed sheets such as top sheets, should be installed right side up for optimum performance. Typically, sheeting fabric, and in particular knit fabric of the type which may form fitted bed sheets, has a relatively smooth side which contacts the user. It is not always readily apparent which side is to face up and which faces down when making up a bed. Thus, it is useful to provide a means to readily signal this information, in order to both improve user comfort and to speed up the bedmaking process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fitted top sheet for a bed, which provides in a simplified fabrication, terminal pockets for receiving a mattress at a foot end of the sheet, and a contoured region which when installed on a bed provides a region of slack fabric at the foot end of the bed.
It is a further object to provide a visual indicator, which indicates either or both of the upper or lower faces of the sheet, to facilitate use of the sheet when making up a bed.
In accordance with the above objects, the present invention consists in one aspect of a fitted top sheet for a bed, of the type comprising a sheet body having a toe end and a head end, corner pockets at the toe end to accommodate a mattress, and a pleat region of the sheet body extending transversely across the sheet body at said toe end to accommodate the feet of a user. The invention resides in the improvement wherein the corner pockets and pleat are both formed on each side of the sheet body from a single deep notch-shaped recess in the sheet body. A notch is formed at each toe end corner of said sheet body, with a first notch on one lateral side of said sheet and a second notch on a second lateral side. Each notch has a narrow inner region and a widely flared peripheral region, the sides of each notch being joined together by a single seam extending the length of the notch.
Preferably, the inner region of each notch is relatively deep and narrow with substantially straight sides merging at the mouth of said inner region with outwardly flared, curved sides, said mouth of said inner region joining with said peripheral region of said notch which comprise generally straight sidewalls diverging away from each other at a relatively broad, shallow angle.
Preferably, the opposed sides of the notch are dissimilar, wherein the mouth of said inner region is formed from a first relatively sharply curved side and second less sharply curved side of said notch.
In another aspect, a seam forms a visual indicator to indicate to the user the upper or lower side of said sheet, said visual indicator comprising the line of stitching being formed from a thread of a contrasting colour relative to the sheet body.
In a further aspect, the invention comprises a method for fabricating a fitted top sheet for a bed, comprising the steps of:
providing a fabric blank having a generally rectangular shape, having a foot end and a head end at opposed ends thereof;
cutting at each corner of the toe end of the fabric blank, a notch-shaped recess defined by an interior, relatively steeply angled region, merging with a peripheral, relatively shallow-angled region;
stitching together the opposed sides of each said recess with a single seam extending the length of said recess, thereby forming within the fabric blank, a mattress pocket at each toe end corner and a transverse pleat at said toe end to accommodate the feet of a user.
Preferably, the shape of the notch is as described above.